Taisetsuna : Precious
by Aoikami Sarah
Summary: Kakashi, his past, present and future? Romance, Drama, Action and Kakashi offspring goodness.
1. Default Chapter

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

032403 040403 122704 -

_Note: The events of this fanfiction diverge from the Kishimoto plot essentially after the Zabuza arch and just before the Chuunin Exam arch. All fan-characters are property of Aoikami Sarah. This fic used to be much longer with no sign of ending. So I've chopped the continuation off and effectively 'completed' it._

**.X.X.X.**

**Many Years Ago…**

The ramen shop was packed as usual on a Friday night. The three ninja only just found room at the bar.

"Three gyuudon, please."

"Coming right up."

A nervous silence fell over them. The white-haired boy on the right tapped his un-cracked chopsticks against a soy sauce bottle.

The girl of the group's hand smacked his so fast no one saw it. "Stop that!" she hissed.

"Sorry, Oururi."

Oururi put her hands behind her head and smoothed her deep blue hair idly. She stared into space for a moment. Her soft grey eyes unfocussed.

Three steaming bowls of beef and noodles were placed before them.

Iruka laughed. "It's hard to believe you guys are nervous. It's me who should be pissing my pants. I'm the one taking the exam tomorrow, remember?" He smiled at his friends. "But you know what? I'm not nervous."

"Iruka," Oururi sighed heavily. "Would you stopped being so frickin' melodramatic? How can you set yourself up for failure like that?"

"I'm trying to be realistic!"

"Pessimistic is more like it," 15 year old Hatake Kakashi grumbled as he put his chopsticks down next to his empty bowl. "That was good," he muttered through his facemask.

"Damn! I will never get tired of how amazingly fast you eat!" Oururi clapped her hands together and marveled.

"That's just 'cause you're the only one who's seen his face for more than a second." Iruka pouted.

"Awwww…" Oururi pinched his cheeks. "IKURA is sad!" She giggled, calling him 'salmon eggs' instead of 'dolphin.'

"I RU KA!" he shouted, correcting her.

"Oururi…" Kakashi developed a large sweat drop. 'They'll never change, but after tomorrow everything will change,' he thought as he watched his friend and his girlfriend pull at each other's cheeks. 'Oururi and I are already Jounin but Iruka…' he stared at his friend. 'He will never make it.'

"Seriously, you guys," Iruka rubbed his cheek. "Thanks for supporting me. You don't know how much this means to me."

"You're never going to make it with that attitude," Oururi said before slurping up a slice of beef. "Ya big softy!" Oururi grinned and gave him a huge hug.

**.X.**

A year before, Kakashi had never imagined he would smile ever again. It was a few weeks after the nine tails attack. So many nin had died senselessly. War was one thing. War had a cause. This demon killed everything in its path regardless of age or ability. Konoha was very quiet. The remainder of October had been set aside as a period of mourning. The few people he passed as he headed for the bridge were dressed in the same black clothes. Their eyes sought his out as he walked by, but he didn't lift his head.

On the bridge where his team had always met, Kakashi stopped and leaned over the railing. The stream still flowed by, the birds still sang. The sun still shone, but his heart was broken. 'I can't do this anymore…' he thought. 'Everyone I've ever cared about is dead. I'll never care about anyone every again.'

"Hey kid. Don't do it," a voiced called with little enthusiasm as a set of footsteps sounded on the bridge. Kakashi looked up, but didn't recognize the girl. She was about his age and height. She was wearing a black kung-fu gi with her hands plunged deep into the pockets and Chinese slippers. Her hair was long and so dark it seemed blue. Her face held the same tired sad expression that Konoha wore. "This bridge isn't nearly tall enough."

"I wasn't going to kill myself, stupid," he snorted.

"Coulda fooled me," she commented. He was leaning pretty far over the railing. Kakashi pouted under his mask and pushed away from the rail. He looked up at the blue sky as perfect clouds ambled by. "Seems pretty ridiculous, doesn't it, that we're still here?" she asked no one in particular. "But like they say, life goes on." She too turned her eyes to the sky and stared. "I lost my mother, the last person in this world who cared about me."

"I lost my sensei and last member of my team," he said in reply; the first time he had vocalized this fact. "I have nothing left." He didn't know what to expect next from her. She nodded slowly and rested her gaze on him.

"Well, I'm going to get some tea," the girl announced and didn't wait for him to respond before shuffling along.

Kakashi stared at her as she went, and deciding he had nothing better to do, he followed.

At the sweets shop, they sat in silence at a table and drank genmaicha out of handle-less earthenware mugs. A plate of mitarashi dango sat before them, untouched. Across the way, a younger boy sat in front of a cup of tea and stared at them; not so much at the people as the treats they weren't consuming.

"Oi, Nee-chan," the girl beckoned to the waitress. "Give that kid whatever he wants." Kakashi raised a brow but said nothing. He watched the waitress relay the message. The boy looked shocked. Rather than order, he came over to them.

"Thank you so much, but you don't have to do that," he said quietly and idly rubbed the scar that crossed his nose.

"I don't have to, but I can," she said and jingled a bag of coins. "You see, I just came into a small inheritance," she joked. The bag couldn't hold more than 100 ryou. "You look like you could use some dango." She pushed the plate towards him.

"Thank you. My name is Umino Iruka."

"Aono Oururi," the girl responded. She turned and prompted her companion whose name she had not yet learned with a small nudge.

"Hatake Kakashi," he said quietly. "Yoroshiku."

When it got dark, Iruka went back to his cousin's house where he was living and Kakashi went back to his little apartment. Oururi followed.


	2. Chapter Two

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Two**

**Present Day…**

The sun shone down on another beautiful day in the Hidden Leaf Village. Three Genin waited impatiently in the shade of a large tree next to the bridge for their sensei to arrive.

"10:30," Sakura said.

"11," said Sasuke.

"I bet he'll show 10:15!" shouted Naruto.

"Baka, it is 10:15!" Sakura shouted back.

A calm, smooth voice startled them. "Yo." Kakashi waved as he came up from behind them. "Sorry, I couldn't find my keys…"

"You LIAR!" Naruto and Sakura chimed.

Naruto bounced in front of Sakura. "Ne, ne, what do I win! I guessed I guessed!"

"Nothing, we didn't get to the wager."

He hung his head in disappointment. A dream of winning a date with Sakura went up in smoke.

Kakashi and Sasuke started walking. "Come on," their sensei said as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "We've got a long day ahead of us."

**.X.**

When the sun was just about to sink into the horizon, Kakashi's team 7 started making its way back to town. For once, their sensei walked with them.

'Boy,' he thought as he watched them out of the corner of his eye, 'they're really dragging ass today. Perhaps I pushed them too hard.'

"Ne, Kakashi-senei?" Naruto groaned

'Here it comes,' Kakashi thought. "Mm?"

"Tomorrow can we do the same exercise again? If I do it a couple more times I won't get so tired!"

Kakashi's eye curved as he smiled beneath his facemask. "I don't see why not."

"All right!"

"Naruto, speak for yourself!" Sakura scolded. 'You're a total masochist!' her inner voice shouted. Sasuke snorted lightly, a thin grin on his lips.

A light breeze picked up and blew Sakura's hair into her eyes. "Is it supposed to storm tonight?" she asked no one in particular.

"Don't think so," Sasuke added. He noticed immediately that his sensei was on guard. Even though the Jounin kept walking at the same leisurely pace, he was alert. Naruto was too busy humming to himself. As Kakashi slowed his pace, Naruto passed him. The boy noticed the disturbance just a little too late.

Ten kunai flew from a nearby tree and made a line on the ground only inches from Naruto's exposed toes. A gleeful, tinkling laugh drew their attention to the attacker.

"I've drawn a line. Do you dare cross it?" A young girl with long white braids stood on a tree branch only 100 yards from them. Her forehead protector, which she wore around her waist, was from the Hidden Sand Village.

"Is this a challenge?" Kakashi asked as calm as ever.

"It is if you cross the line. It's up to you. You can run away like a coward, or you can fight me."

"I have no fight with you," Kakashi answered, "but I will cross this line. You see, this is my way home." His students readied themselves for a fight.

"Hey kid!" Naruto called to the girl. "Whatever you got, we can take!"

"Naruto…" Kakashi groaned.

"Kakashi-sensei. I'm crossing the line," Naruto said, waiting for Kakashi's approval. If it were too dangerous, his sensei wouldn't let him go alone.

"All right."

Naruto nearly choked. 'All right!' he thought. 'Now's my change to show up that Sasuke!' "You hear that, kid? I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm gonna kick your ass!"

She giggled again. "I'm Hikari, and we'll see about that!"

Naruto charged the tree using his newfound chakra ability to scale the trunk. When he reached the branch she was on, Hikari vanished, her laugh almost seeming to linger for a moment.

"So slow," she said from behind and swept his legs out from under him. Naruto fell, but landed gracefully. As he recovered, the girl seemed to appear again. Her face was very close to his. "Too bad. You're sort of cute!" she giggled. Naruto gasped and tried to block. He brought his arm up in enough time to catch the kunai she had intended for his throat on his forearm. A drop of his blood splashed on her white costume. She hummed and jumped back.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried.

"Don't help me!" he shouted back. 'This kid, she's younger than me!' He remembered something Kakashi had said on their mission to the Wave Country. 'There exist kids younger than you… who are stronger than me.'

'Oh crap! Is this one of those kids?' Naruto thought wildly. 'I can't lose to her. I can't lose in front of Sakura and Sasuke…' He growled and put his hands together. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" In seconds, the clearing was full of the boy's duplicates.

"Oh?" she asked. "Shadow Clones, eh?" Dozens of Narutos attacked and were popped in moments. Hikari leapt out of the dust at the real Naruto. He caught her foot, but she brought her other knee up and slammed it into his chin. She twisted herself free, planted her hand on the ground and kicked him in the chest so hard he went flying. Naruto crashed into a tree and slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Next?" She smiled.

"Sensei!" Sasuke barked. Kakashi nodded and the boy crossed the line.

Hikari cocked her head to the side. "Oh?" she mused. "All right. One moment please," she asked in her unflappably cute voice. A small tornado swirled around her. When it ebbed, the girl leveled up her ki. The dust blew away from her as she did this.

Sasuke grinned. "This is going to be fun."

"Let's see how this one does!" the girl shouted. Her smile was more sinister than it had been before, almost matching the higher level of ki she was exuding. She and Sasuke exchanged blows, but both blocked the other.

'She's good for a little kid,' Sasuke thought as he tried to decide how to take her down. He rushed forward, thinking he was faster than she was. In a heartbeat she was in his face.

"Aw, you're too slow, too?" she asked, disappointed and slammed her elbow into his collarbone. As Sasuke fell to his knees she grasped his head in her thin arms.

"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed. 'This girl intends to kill him?' Even Kakashi looked a bit nervous.

His opponent looked up. "Very well," she sighed and kicked him away from her. To her surprise, Sasuke rolled, turned and burst towards her again.

"We're not finished!" he growled and pummeled the girl. She raised her protected forearms and caught all of his blows. The dust was picking up. In the late afternoon sun it became hard to see.

"Fist of Sand no Jutsu!" the girl called out. The dust swarmed at her command and formed a huge fist.

Kakashi and Sakura were still behind the line of kunai. Sakura clenched her fists. She wanted to pick the weapons up and hurl them at the white-haired girl. The sand fist slammed into Sasuke's chest. He dug up the earth as his body tumbled in the direction of the unconscious Naruto and fell still.

"Two down!" She grinned as the sand fist dissipated. "Come on, you. You are the intended target," she shouted and pointed at Kakashi. "Are you going to see another one of your students trounced or are you going to be a man?"

"You little girls should go home. What kind of parents do you have anyway?"

"Why you…!" Once again, the girl powered up. Her battle aura made tears come to Sakura's eyes. Kakashi looked down at her. "Sakura. Check on Naruto and Sasuke."

"Ha-hai!"

At last, Kakashi crossed the line. He lifted his forehead protector revealing his sharingan. "Playtime is over."

The girl grinned and put her hands together forming a seal. Suddenly, two clones appeared at her side. In unison they shouted. "We will decide when playtime is over!" They charged him, seeming to fly as they ran. Kakashi stared, ready to copy the jutsu with the sharingan, but gasped. "It's not a jutsu…?" All three girls landed kicks which he was just able to block.

Naruto and Sasuke came to and watched the fight with Sakura. "Kage Bunshin?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.

"She didn't call it," Sakura told him. "I can't believe she's that strong!" She helped Sasuke sit up, but kept her eyes on the fight. Then she saw it: a large drop of blood on only one of the girl's clone's uniform. "Kakashi-sensei! They're not clones!"

All three came at him again, but he was ready. "I see! I don't need this to beat you now," Kakashi asserted and pulled his hitai-ate back down. He took each one out, one at a time.

The girls panted on the ground, trying to get their wind back.

"Very clever," he said coolly. "We never suspected there were actually three of you."

"Ha! You're not so tough!" Sakura shouted. 'Sneaky little bitches!' inner-Sakura screamed.

"Guys," he called to his students. "Would you restrain our friends?"

Each Genin took a girl and held her at the point of a kunai.

"Not so tough?" the middle girl in Naruto's hands growled at Sakura. "We kicked you Genin's butts!"

"'You Genin?'" Sasuke wondered. "You don't mean…!"

The girl he was holding smirked. "We've all three been Chuunin for two years already!"

"What what whaaaaat!" Naruto shouted, nearly deafening his captive.

"I thought as much." Kakashi dusted his hands and squatted down in front of them. They looked nervous. "Now, Sand Ninja. You are trespassers in this country unless you can show me your visas." They remained silent. "You know, this is a serious crime. You'll be thrown in prison."

The girl on the right let out a sharp gasp. The other two glared at her.

"You'll have to tell Hokage your reason for being here or they'll torture it out of you." None of Kakashi's threats were doing any good. "And he'll have to call your parents!" he joked.

"Hahahaha!" The middle girl laughed angrily. "At least they won't have to pay long distance!"

"Hikari!" the one on the left shouted.

"It's over, Sisters." The one on the right nodded. "We might as well tell him our reason." Kakashi raised a brow. "I am Hatake Yume…"

"I am Hatake Yami…"

"And I am Hatake Hikari. We came looking for you, Otousan."

Kakashi stared, dumbstruck at the three girls. It was about right. They were about 9 or 10 years old. Each had white hair like his and a cock-sure grin just like…

"Oururi…"


	3. Chapter Three

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Three**

**.X.Flashback.X.**

The sound of her laughter peeled through the empty streets.

"You are the loudest ninja I have ever met," 15 year old Hatake Kakashi groaned as he followed her to the meeting. This simply elicited more cackling, shimmering laughter from his girlfriend.

"You can be so uptight, sometimes!"

"Oururi, it's five in the morning, at least be respectful to the people trying to sleep."

To this she stuck out her tongue, but obeyed. They walked along to the meeting hall in silence. Kakashi sighed.

"Pfff," Oururi put her hands behind her head. "You sound like Iruka. What's wrong with you?"

"This job…" he mumbled.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll do fine!"

"It's not me I'm worried about…"

Oururi stopped walking and glared at him. She pushed her long, dark blue ponytail off of her shoulder. "If you can be Anbu, so can I!"

"I know you can. But being an assassin isn't like being a Chuunin captain or a Jounin leader. It's going to be… darker."

She laughed again. "You are so damn cute, Kakashi! I'll be fine, you'll be fine, we'll all be _fine_!"

He watched her skip down the road toward the meeting hall. 'I have a horrible feeling about this…'

**.X.X.End Flashback.X.X.**

Naruto and Sakura twitched slightly and let of their captives go.

"These kids…" Sakura began.

"…ARE YOURS!" Naruto shouted.

"It seems that way."

Sasuke raised a brow. "It would explain the hair and the fact that they became Chuunin so early. Weren't you six when you made Chuunin, Kakashi-sensei?"

Now Naruto had something else to stammer about. "S-s-s-s-s-SIX?"

"Mmmm…" Kakashi hummed. He stared at each girl in turn. "So to what do I owe this visit? Where's you mother?" he asked, anxiously.

All three glanced at each other and lowered their heads. Hikari started to speak, but her voice was too soft. Kakashi leaned in to hear her better. "Kaasan is…"

All three sobbed quietly, their tears falling on the dusty ground. Yume wiped the back of her hand across her face. "She's dead."

Kakashi remained in the same position. He closed his eye. 'Damn it.' Somewhere in the back of his mind, Oururi's laugh, like a more boisterous version of her daughters', echoed in the empty Leaf Village streets. 'Ten years ago,' he thought, his head bowed, 'I knew one day I would mourn you.'

Kakashi stood up, his eye still closed. "You guys are dismissed."

Wordlessly, the Genin walked slowly back toward the village. Sakura watched Kakashi's back over her shoulder for some time. The little girls were no longer crying, but still trained their eyes on the ground. "That's so sad," she whispered.

Naruto swallowed hard. "'S not so bad," he rubbed at a patch of dried blood on his cheek. "They still got their dad."

Sasuke remained silent as they entered the village proper and split up.


	4. Chapter Four

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Four**

Kakashi opened the door to his apartment. Three heads poked around him to see inside.

"Wow!" Hikari cried. "It's huge!" She and her sisters ran in and jumped on the couch.

Kakashi's eye bulged as he noticed Come Come Paradise Volume 3 lying for anyone to see on the coffee table. 'Oh no! I need to clean up this shithole!' He ran around so fast he blurred. He opened a closet, already jammed with stuff and threw a huge pile of magazines and manga into it. He laughed nervously as the girls blinked at him.

He sat down on the coffee table and stared at them. Yami was sitting on her hands. Yume was kicking her feet idly against the side of the couch. Hikari clutched the edge of the cushion and stared intently back at him.

"So," he began, "why exactly did you attack me and my students?"

Six cheeks blushed. "We wanted to see…" Yami started.

"…If you were really that strong," Yume finished.

Hikari rubbed her thumbs against the ribbing on the cushion nervously. "Kaasan always said that you were stronger than her. We wanted to see if it was true."

Kakashi hummed, amused, but only for a moment. "Forgive me but, how did she die?"

Their eyes fell to the floor again. "She went on a mission… They brought her back…" Yume sniffed.

"I'm sorry. Don't cry again, please?" He looked around wildly for tissues. All he had was toilet paper. He opted for napkins instead. As they calmed down again he sighed. "I guess you'll have to stay with me for now. Since you don't have passports you'll have to take off your Suna hitai-ate. Otherwise you'll be arrested."

They did as they were told. Suddenly, as if left unprotected, all three of their stomachs grumbled. They blushed again.

"Hungry, eh?" Kakashi asked and stood up. His own stomach echoed theirs. "Heh. I have nothing here. We'll have to go to the Ramen joint."

"Ramen!" they all cried in joy.

"You're easy to please," he muttered and led them to the restaurant.

**.X.**

As they walked through the downtown streets, heads turned.

"Oh, how cute!"

"Triplets! Look, they're adorable!"

"Would you look at that, they're identical!"

Kakashi hoped against hope that he could make it to the restaurant without running into anyone he knew.

"Oi, Kakashi!" a familiar voice called.

'Oh no. Well, at least it's not Gai.' He stopped and waved. "Yo, Iruka."

The girls looked around their father's legs. "Iruka?" "Like Ikura?" "Ikura who was friends with Kaasan?" they asked.

Iruka blinked and both men stood in stunned silence for a moment. "It's I RU KA," he mumbled.

"Come on. You're buying us dinner," Kakashi grabbed his vest and dragged him into the ramen shop.

When the food had finally come, Kakashi pulled Iruka aside and tried to explain.

"They're Oururi's!"

"Shhhhhhh! Keep your voice down. Yes. It seems I got her pregnant before she left."

"That's incredible! So where is she? Man, it's been so long since she's been around, I can't wait to…" Iruka's joy faded as he read the expression in his friend's eye. "She's not…?"

"Yes."

"Kakashi…"

They looked over at the girls who were fighting playfully over a piece of gyoza. Hikari let out a loud shriek of a laugh that stunned the two men's hearts. It sounded just like her mother's. Iruka went to order drinks while Kakashi observed his daughters from a distance. Yume grabbed a hold of Hikari's uniform as they play-fought and pulled. A soft tearing noise made them all gasp.

"Oh no!" Yami covered her mouth. "Kaasan's repair!"

Tears came to Yume's eyes. "I'm sorry, Hikari! Kaasan won't…"

"It's ok!" Hikari urgently cut her sister off, clutching her hand.

Kakashi squinted slightly and hummed to himself before returning to the table. "What's the matter?" he asked. "Did you rip your shirt?" They were reluctant to say anything. They stared at their food. "It looks like it's been repaired once already."

"Three times," the middle one added.

"Yami!" Hikari scolded.

"Kaasan would have been upset if she saw it." Yume explained. "It made her sad to fix our things."

Kakashi became lost in his thoughts for a moment, picturing Oururi in her Anbu uniform on her knees with a needle and thread, stitching her sobbing child's clothes back together. 'It's ok, Hikari,' she said in his mind. Her voice was soft, but behind the Neko assassin's mask she wore her brows were pinched together in an expression of worry. Kakashi puzzled at this. 'She cared about her children enough to mend their garments, but it made her sad to do so?'


	5. Chapter Five

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Five**

That night the three Hatake girls were finally asleep on a futon in the living room in Kakashi's apartment. He watched them for a little while before turning out the light and retiring to his own bedroom.

As he slipped under the covers, Kakashi closed his eyes and tried not to think about their mother.

**.X.X.Flashback.X.X.**

He remembered when her laugh changed. They had come back from their first Anbu mission. It was a cool, fall afternoon. The target was a corrupt politician with a huge goon squad. Three Anbu, a leader and the two rookies were sent out to handle it. There had been more than 50 samurai standing in their way. When the team emerged, there were none.

Kakashi had watched Oururi out of the corner of his eye during the slaughter. She was more than able to handle herself and because she was wearing the mask he couldn't tell how she felt as she took down the targets. Both of them had been commended by the team leader for a job well done and told to head home by separate routes. Before they split apart, Kakashi noticed Oururi's hands were balled into tight fists. She shook slightly and breathed heavily. He wanted to ask her if she was all right, but their leader had forbidden them to speak or remove their masks till they were safe within Konoha's walls.

Kakashi bounded through the crowded streets. His mask and bloodstained robe tucked away in his backpack. He found Oururi in the side street next to her house, sitting on the ground against a wall, still wearing the mask and robe.

"Oururi!" Kakashi shouted. She leapt up tore the cat's mask off. Her brows were arched and her mouth was tight and angry.

"What!"

"Are you…?"

"I'm _fine_!" she barked and leapt up the fire escape towards her bedroom window. He stood in the long afternoon shadows and watched her go. She laughed at him with a brittle cackle that made her sound possessed. "I'm not as weak as you think I am!"

"That's not it!" he barked back. "You're a…" Her window slammed shut. "You're a precious person to me..." he whispered, unable to reach her. "I just don't want you to get hurt…"

**.X.**

The cat-masked assassin became one of the best the team had seen in years and Oururi and Kakashi were both valuable assets to the Hidden Leaf Anbu squad. Some customers asked for the cat and dog simply because their fame was so renowned. Then one day, very suddenly, the cat quit.

**.X.**

Kakashi blinked and stared at Oururi. "You're leaving?"

She had her back to him. "It's a trade off, some political thing between the Fire Country and the Wind Country. I'm going to the Hidden Sand for 10 years and they're sending someone here."

"Swapping assassins?" he asked, skeptically.

"I can't really discuss it. It's political,' she sneered. "I leave tomorrow. Early. So…" Oururi turned. Her eyes looked everywhere else but at him.

"…Then I guess this is good-bye." Kakashi grit his teeth.

"I guess so." She lingered for a moment before turning again and walking away.

**.X.X.End Flashback.X.X.**

Kakashi turned over and sighed. 'If I had told you, would you have stayed?' he wondered. Then aloud he whispered, "If you can hear me, I'm sorry, Oururi."


	6. Chapter Six

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Six**

Present

Sometime later, three pale, white shapes slipped out the living room window and repelled down the side of the apartment building. They silently hit the ground and sprinted through the quiet streets.

The 3rd Hokage's house was as usual, unprotected. One by one they flipped up to the ledge outside a tiny window and popped inside. Moments later the first emerged, followed by the second, a large scroll that just fit through and then the last. They exchanged hand signals and sprinted away.

As they wound through the alleyways and side streets on a seemingly random course, one looked forward, one held the scroll and one watched their backs. They didn't expect to be confronted from above. A half dozen shuriken tagged the scroll so hard it fell from Hikari's hands.

"Above!" called Yami.

"Oh no!" Yume cried.

"Otousan!"

Kakashi stood balanced on one foot on a wire stretched between buildings. "You are so grounded." He had his forehead protector raised. His eyes gleamed in the light of a neon sign. "So you were using me the whole time, were you?" he growled, more disappointedly that angrily but still frighteningly.

"Fist of Sand no Jutsu!" Yami called her attack.

"No, Yami! He's using his Sharingan!" Hikari warned too late. Their father put his hands together mimicking her seal and copied her. The two enormous fists punched each other, scattering in a shower of sand. As the girls jumped to avoid it, Kakashi honed in on Hikari.

"Give me the scroll, Musume!"

"I can't!" she shouted. A thin wire shot between them and wrapped around the scroll. Kakashi looked to the source as Hikari lost her grip. The scroll flew towards the wire's owner.

"I'll take that," a muffled voice came from above. A woman wearing the beige clothes of a ninja from the Wind Country and a Hunter-nin mask reeled the scroll in.

'Oh no!' Kakashi gasped. 'She's come for the girls!' He charged the woman. She tucked the oversized scroll under her arm and bounded away on the electric wires. She was misbalanced because of the heavy scroll and Kakashi soon caught up with her. Throwing kunai at her served to set her even more off balance and she finally slipped. As she landed and turned to run again he was right on her back holding a kunai to her throat.

The girls had caught up with them. They skidded to a halt and watched with baited breath.

"I won't let you have the scroll," the Hunter-nin muttered from behind her mask.

"I don't give a fuck about the scroll," he growled. "I won't let you take my kids."

The girls gasped. "Otousan," Yume whispered.

The Hunter-nin grasped the scroll tighter. "Just let me have the scroll."

Suddenly it came together. Kakashi looked over his shoulder at the girls. They were clutching each other anxiously. 'They're not worried about me,' he thought. 'They're worried about the Hunter-nin!' he grabbed her shoulder, spun her around and tore her mask off.

Just like the last time he saw her, Oururi couldn't look him in the eye.

Yume looked up at the starry sky. "They're coming!" she alerted everyone.

Kakashi was on top of it. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he shouted and an exact clone of himself appeared. "Give me the scroll." Oururi resisted. "Do it, or you could all be executed!"

Reluctantly she gave it up. Kakashi tossed it to his clone and it bounded up to the rooftops. Soon it was quiet again. He slipped the kunai back into his pocket, turned his back on her and began walking away.

"Kakashi…" Oururi reached out grabbed his sleeve. "Won't you at least let me explain?" Her eyes were filled with worry like they had been in his mind.

"Follow me," he said and they flicked through the alleys back to his apartment.

**.x.**

Oururi and her girls sat on the futon in Kakashi's living room. He leaned against the wall and looked from one worried face to another. He kicked himself for not having noticed how much they resembled like him, especially around the eyes.

"All right," he said and cleared his throat. "Why did you set me up?"

"That wasn't part of the plan," Oururi said quickly. "Well, sort of. It was just a mission. But I thought since we were here, they could meet you." She cast her grey eyes back down at the floor. "You weren't supposed to see me."

"That's a shitty plan and you know it," Kakashi growled softly.

She shrugged. "Guess I sort of wanted to see you, too."

He folded his arms and walked to his room. "Well, your mission failed," he said plainly. "We'll talk more about this in the morning."

Oururi looked shocked, but said nothing as he closed the door behind him.

"Kaasan," Yume whispered. "Otousan is scary."

"Pfff," Oururi scoffed. "He's a pushover. He could have turned us over to Sandaime by now and he didn't." She grinned assuredly at her children, but bit the inside of her lip. "Don't worry. Everything's going to be all right."


	7. Chapter Seven

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Seven**

As sunlight crept through the panes, Kakashi emerged silently from his room, fully dressed. He'd hardly slept and couldn't wait to start the new day. He was not surprised to find all four females still snoozing. Oururi was spooning Yami and Yume and Hikari lay sprawled at her back. He scratched his head and smiled under the mask. Their mother's eyes flicked open involuntarily as she felt his presence come into the room.

"Morning," he whispered. She slid out from between the girls and followed him to the balcony. The air was still crisp and cool, but refreshing. Oururi looked out over the Leaf Village and took a deep breath.

"Despite what you think, it really was just a job for the Hidden Sand, which as you pointed out, I have now failed," she groaned and stretched her arms on the railing, leaning back while hanging on to the cold iron.

It was all he could do to keep from watching her. "Why didn't you tell me I had children?" he asked and looked out where she did.

"What would have been the point of that? You wouldn't have been able to see them and besides…" she stopped herself short hearing the sliding glass door crack open.

"Kaasan, I'm hungry," a soft voice called from the door. Yami rubbed her left eye and looked sleepily out at the pair.

Kakashi closed his eye. "Ok, let's see if I've got anything to eat in this place."

"Do you actually have anything other than dried fish?" Oururi jibed as she followed him in.

"Ewwwwww." Yami made a face. "Otousan, you eat _dry_ fish?"

"There's nothing wrong with dried fish," he whined and shut the door behind him.

**.X.**

At last, the strange little family emerged. They had hardly set foot on a public sidewalk when the comments started again.

"So cute!"

"All three…!"

"…Even dressed alike!"

Kakashi sighed heavily. Oururi laughed. This made his heart skip a beat. It was back. The shimmering, crystalline laugh she had lost when she joined the Anbu squad was back. Something had changed. Kakashi didn't have to look far for the source of her happiness; they were tagging along behind her. He smiled himself and was about to reach out to tousle Hikari's hair when he saw them.

On the rooftops and around corners, several ninja were watching them. They knew they had been spotted and wasted no time. Kakashi readied himself. This hadn't escaped Oururi's notice either. She nodded to him and placed the children between them. The girls blinked signals to each other, communicating the number of enemies and who would take down whom.

All this was rendered unnecessary when one of the ninja came out into the open with his hands raised slightly. "Good morning, Kakashi. Hokage-sama would like a word with you," the man said quietly with a pleasant but fake smile on his lips.

"Oh?" Kakashi asked.

"Come this way." He motioned in the direction of the village hall.

"Seems we have an escort," Oururi whispered.

"Don't try anything," Kakashi advised. "We'll do better if we just go along."

All five of them were shown to the Hokage's office. He was busy signing documents, but put his brush down when they arrived.

"Kakashi," the Hokage croaked with a pleasant smile. "Thank you for getting the forbidden scroll back last night."

He bowed slightly in response. "You're more than welcome."

Sandaime looked up and wove his fingers together. "Aono Oururi, isn't it?" he asked. "We haven't seen you in many years. How have you been?"

"Fine, Hokage-sama."

'He knows damn well she's not permitted to return for 10 full years," Kakashi thought. He sweated a little. 'Damn it. He knows exactly what's going on. What's he up to?'

"And these are your girls, right?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

He took a long drag off his pipe and let the smoke curl up around his large, triangular hat. "That's good. They're fine ninja. I didn't even hear them till they were popping the scroll out the bathroom window. I expected as much from the offspring of two such outstanding ninja."

All of them swallowed deep. Kakashi raised a brow. 'Cripes,' Kakashi thought. 'He really _does_ know everything.' The girls looked up at their mother who stared into the Hokage's sharp, black eyes and clenched her fists.

"The scroll is back where it belongs," he said as he scratched the side of his wrinkled face, calmly. "You'll be on your way tomorrow I should think," he intoned a note of warning in his assumption. "Tell me, Oururi, do you like it in the Hidden Sand?"

The muscles in Oururi's shoulders relaxed. "No," she said very plainly. "We don't."

"It's so green here!" Yami cried.

"And the sun's not as hot!" Yume added.

"And Tousan is here!" Hikari grabbed Kakashi's hand.

'Whoa, they sure know how to work the sympathy angle!' Kakashi thought. 'Let's just hope he's having a good day and doesn't have us all sent to prison.'

Oururi looked astounded. "Girls!" she gasped.

Silence washed over them as they waited for Sandaime to take another long drag.

"You're a valuable asset, Oururi, which Konoha should not have given up so easily. Those were dark and confusing days after the death of Yondaime, as you well know."

Kakashi took a deep breath and nodded once.

The old man pulled open a new scroll and made a note. "You should be only a few more months left of your obligation to the Hidden Sand, am I right?"  
"I believe so," Oururi answered quietly.

"Then we shall meet again when you return," he said and smiled slightly.

Kakashi sighed with relief.

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama," she said and put her hand on Hikari's head. "But I can't return."

"What?" Kakashi asked, shocked.

"My girls were born in the Wind Country. They're Sand ninja. I can't leave them behind."

Sandaime stopped writing and squinted up at her. "I see." He dipped his brush, crossed something off and wrote something else. "I'll see what I can do." With a nod they were dismissed. The family walked in silence to the ramen shop.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Eight**

The atmosphere around them was heavy as they found a table in the nearly empty restaurant. It was still early for dinner, but they had skipped lunch to see the Hokage. As Kakashi ordered, Oururi stood up.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

A silly grin spread slowly across her face. "I think I hear something familiar." She sneaked up to the open front door and listened. "I do!" She stuck out her tongue. "Oi!" Oururi called through the doorway. "IKURA!"

"It's I RU KA!" came the frustrated reply. Iruka's head poked under the cloth flap and blinked in surprise. Oururi leapt and tackled him. "Oururi! You're alive!" he shouted and laughed.

The six of them camped out in the restaurant till it was busy with the evening dinner crowd, trading stories of the old days.

**.X.**

It was just as he noticed Yume yawning that Kakashi wondered where Oururi and Iruka had gone off to. They had gotten up a while ago to say hello to a friend and hadn't come back. For just a moment he wondered what they could be talking about, but he hadn't had to sneeze all night. He excused himself and went to the men's room. When he came out, Oururi blocked his path.

"Where have you been?" he asked.

"Over there with Anko-chan and them. Have a drink with me," she demanded.

"I don't drink."

"I do." She wagged a carafe of sake in front of him. He took it and noticed it was empty. He raised a brow. She bit her lip. "Take me drunk I'm home."

Kakashi looked over to the table. The girls were gone.

"I called in a favor with Ikura," Oururi smirked, a slight blush that might have been from the sake was on her cheeks. "So, will you?" She looked up at him with her cool, grey eyes. He still knew every nuance of those irises; every fleck of blue and silver. He still knew her. He paid the bill and they walked slowly down the shadowy streets back to his apartment.

Kakashi unlocked and opened the door. The two slipped in. The reflection through the windows from the streetlamps below bathed the apartment in a dim, bluish light. He removed his shinobi's vest, leaned against the door and wondered if he was thinking clearly. She pressed herself against his chest.

"So," Oururi purred. "Do you still have a wicked tan line?" He could see her teeth glint in the dark as she grinned. Her fingers touched his cheek. Any lingering negative thoughts he had about her vanished. Gently, she pulled down the mask.

In the darkness, she couldn't see the slight difference between the tan above the mask and the paler flesh below, nor did she truly care. He was even more beautiful than he had been as a teenager. Oururi went up on her toes, her body pressing even closer to his. Their lips met and Kakashi wrapped his arms around her. He pulled at the ribbon that held her long, blue hair back and it fell all around her. They worked at the knots on each other's hitai-ate.

She ran her thumb across his scarred left eyelid. She felt the start of crows feet at the edges of his eyes. "It's been a while, ne, Kakashi?"

His hands came to rest on her hips. "Yeah." He kissed her lips slowly then buried his face in her neck, taking in her scent. "We're not 16 anymore."

She laughed lightly. "No, certainly not." Oururi put her hands on his and led him to his bedroom.

**.X.**

Just before dawn, Oururi fell asleep against Kakashi's chest. He watched her as the light brightened and stroked her hair. His fingers traced the outline of a scar on her back. He gasped as he realized how large it was and moved to see it in the pale light. Oururi woke and sat up quickly, her eyes filled with worry, staring, trying to read his.

"Oururi…" he whispered. "What is that scar from?"

She relaxed and turned her back to him again. She pulled her hair away from the immense scar slashed across her spine. "Sand nin."

He reached out and touched the raised mark. It could only have been cause by a very large weapon like a sword or giant shuriken. He knew very well that such a wound would have been life threatening. His heart twisted up with guilt. "This happened after you left."

"When the girls were still Genin, five Sand Chuunin, jealous of their talent attacked us one day. I was able to take down three of them, but the other two would have killed my girls. One of them tagged me in the back as I tried to protect them. It was a pretty nasty injury. My girls, _our_ girls, they kept me going."

Oururi turned back around and fell against his chest again. He took her in his arms and rubbed his cheek against her bowed head. "I've wanted to thank you for years now," she said with the slight hiccup, trying to conceal her emotion. "When I left this village, I had no dreams, no cause, no reason to live. I could be the best shinobi I could be, but I was empty. When the girls were born I finally had something to protect. Our lives haven't been easy, but I am thankful every day for them."

"Then so am I, Oururi." What you were becoming frightened me." Kakashi held her tightly, afraid that she would fly away like a dream upon waking. "The girl who left this village wasn't the girl I was in love with. I didn't want to see that girl. I didn't…"

"That girl broke your heart, didn't she?" He felt her warm tears fall on his skin. "I'm so sorry, Kakashi. A lot has changed. I have to tell you the truth. Back then, I know you cared for me, but I didn't love you."

She laid very still waiting for his reaction. He took a deep, calm breath and stroked her hair. "I know," he whispered, almost inaudibly. "That's why I let you go." He closed his eyes as the sun peaked over the Konoha rooftops.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Nine**

Iruka and the Hatake girls met up with them at the village gates just after breakfast. The triplets were sleepy but full and ready to see their mother again. They had their packs on and were ready for the trek back to the Wind Country.

"Sorry I didn't get you a going away present," Kakashi played with a pebble with the toe of his sandal.

Oururi scoffed. "Please, don't go changin' on me now!" she half-joked.

"I got you something, Oururi," Iruka pulled the large pack off his back and tossed it to the Anbu woman. "From Hokage-sama."

She made a face and opened the top of the drawstring. "What the…!" The girls crowded her to see inside. The top of a large scroll protruded from the bag.

"It _looks_ like the genuine article. By the time you get back, it'll be blank. You won't have failed and you may still get paid!" Iruka grinned, knowing he'd saved the day.

"Oh, IKURA!" she hugged her friend tightly.

As she turned to explain it to her girls, Kakashi leaned over. "Did you put my present in?"

"Yup, should be enough money for new clothes for all of them for a year or so." He sighed melodramatically. "I should have become Jounin. There's no money in teaching."

Kakashi laughed.

"Well, I guess we should be off." Oururi smiled sadly.

"Oh, I do have a present for my girls." Kakashi remembered and waved them to come closer. He squatted down. "Please, a little closer. Closer." They gave each other worried looks. When they were as close as they could possibly get, Kakashi quickly lowered his facemask and gave each of his daughters a kiss on the forehead. "Yume, Yami, Hikari, you take care of your Kaasan, ok?"

They looked dazed, but nodded in agreement. As they walked with their mother toward the gates Yume piped, "Kaasan! Tousan is so handsome!" Oururi laughed, that tinkling shimmering laugh and gave him one last smile before walking out of the gates.

Kakashi sighed a satisfied sort of sigh.

"You sound relieved to see them go!" Iruka laughed.

"I am, sort of. It won't be for long. Knowing our Hokage-sama, they'll be back." He turned and took in the bustle of the busy village. "For years I was afraid that she had become a monster with no heart, a pure assassin with no care for anything or anyone. She's back, Iruka. She's back already."


	10. Chapter Ten

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Ten**

The sun was at its apex in the sky as Oururi led her girls away from the high walls of the Hidden Leaf Village. As they walked, each nine-year-old would turn her head and look wistfully back at the open gates. Iruka and their father had turned away long ago. Thoughts of mutiny boiled in their brains as their mother trudged on, unwaveringly.

"Kaasan," Hikari clutched her backpack's shoulder straps and whined. "I don't wanna go back to the Hidden Sand. It sucks there."

Oururi kept walking.

"Kaasan," Yami joined in. "I wanna spend more time with Otousan."

"Kaasan." Yume stopped in her tracks. "Please don't make us go back."

Finally Oururi stopped. "Guys," she whispered. "We don't have a choice."

Hikari wrung her backpack straps in her hands. "But Hokage-sama said…!"

"He said he'd see what he can do!" Oururi barked. "Even he may not have the power to free you guys from the Hidden Sand. When a ninja is born into a village it is nearly impossible for him to change sides without spending the rest of his life being chased by hunter-nin."

"But Kaasan…" all three whined.

Oururi spun around, her mouth in a tight frown. "I've never told you about your grandparents. Do you want to know why you don't know much about them?" she snapped. "My mother was of the Leaf. My father was of the Cloud. Together they came to live in Konoha, but the Leaf could not protect my father from the Cloud's hunter-nin. He was killed before I was born. I couldn't bear it if you were killed. I'd rather live the rest of my life in the god-forsaken Sand than lose you. Do you understand?"

Tears came to their eyes, but they nodded. Oururi apologized for being so angry and told them how much she loved them, but the girls still hung back a few yards as they continued their journey.

**.X.**

Three days later, their team arrived in Kazekage's court. They knelt and presented the stolen scroll to him.

"Well done, Oururi. You have truly proven yourself a fine asset to the Hidden Sand," he smirked and unfurled the scroll. As sickeningly as his smile had appeared, it vanished, just as the seals written on the paper faded away. He pulled and pulled the paper till it was all out, but the entire length of it went blank as soon as it hit the air. "This is most disappointing," he growled.

Oururi and the girls did their best to look shocked and similarly disappointed. For the woman, it was easy. She focused on the thought that she would most likely not be paid for the effort.

"I-I don't know what to say, Kazekage-sama. Damn it! I knew it was too easy. They must have switched it on us during the scuffle!"

The village leader waved his hand, excusing them. His attention was not on them but the blank scroll. They would not be penalized for having a trick played on them by Konoha. As they left, Oururi was handed her pay. She thanked the clerk and left silently.

"Feh," she scoffed. "15,000 lousy ryou, what am I supposed to do with this? Burn it for warmth?" She met up with her girls and headed home.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Eleven**

A few months later…

Three Jounin chatted idly amongst themselves in front of the Sandaime's office. One of them leaned against a wall and rolled a toothpick against his teeth with his tongue. "Here comes our team leader now," he muttered.

"Oh, man, anyone but him…" another commented quietly. Finally the doors opened and they were allowed in.

"Ah, good, you're all here," Sandaime began. "This mission is one of extreme delicacy and I know I have selected the best men for the job." They nodded appreciatively. "You are to go into the Hidden Sand, present this agreement to Kazekage-dono and once he has signed it (which he has assured us he will) escort our people back out."

"Consider this mission successfully completed!" the enthusiastic team leader grinned widely. Everyone was suddenly distracted from the brilliant shine of his large, white teeth as the door opened.

"Sorry I'm late," Kakashi bowed apologetically to the village leader who waved his hand. "Oh, so you're leading this mission, eh Gai?"

"You better believe it, Kakashi!" he grinned even wider. "Don't you worry, we'll see that Oururi and her children make it back safe to Konoha!"

Kakashi sighed quietly. 'They must not have told him they're my kids yet,' he thought.

Sandaime cleared his throat and handed the official scroll to Gai. "Kakashi will be traveling ahead of you. He is to protect Oururi and the children until you settle things with Kazekage-dono. You know nothing about this, is that understood?"

"Of course, Hokage-sama!" Gai agreed enthusiastically, but his rival could tell that underneath the glossy exterior, Gai was fuming at being one-upped once again.

They were excused. Outside the door to the office, Kakashi picked up his pack and headed down the hall.

"Kakashi!" Gai called after him. "Don't do anything foolish, now. Heroics will only put the sweet children in danger!"

A large sweat drop formed over Kakashi's head. 'Does he even know they're Chuunin?' he wondered. "Ok, Gai. See you later." He sighed as he left the building and started his journey. In a perfect world, he would reach the Hidden Sand a day ahead of Gai's team, sneak in and hang out with Oururi and the kids for a while and wait for Gai to pick them up with the clearance papers. "Why do I get the feeling this isn't going to be so easy," he muttered. "Maa, ne. Can't be helped."

**.X.**

Before reaching the gates, he found his path blocked by a belligerent 12 year old.

"Oh, good morning, Naruto."

"Kaka'i-sensei!" Naruto shouted, his arms folded, wearing a heavy pout. "When's our next mission! I'm getting' bored hangin' around waitin' all the time!"

Kakashi put a hand behind his head. "Ah, sorry about that. You see, something has come up…"

"Dame datte ba yo! That's no good! You're supposed to be our sensei, but we're not learnin' much if you leave!" Naruto's voice became more pitiful.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, but do you remember those cute girls of mine?"

Naruto blanched. One of the Sand Triplets (he couldn't remember which because they all looked the same) had beaten him soundly. But she had also said that he was cute. That much he would never forget. "Yeah," he replied.

"Well, I want them to come home to live here in Konoha, but I have to go make sure that nothing happens to them on the way." Kakashi bent slightly at the waist. "They're very important to me. You understand, don't you Naruto?"

"Yeah…" Naruto agreed sullenly. His face suddenly lit up. "Can I come too? I would be a super help with my awesome ninja skills! Can I come? Can I? Can I?"

Kakashi sweat a little. "Uh, no. But I'm sure you'll see them as soon as we get back."

"Oh, ok…" Naruto scuffed the dirt with his foot.

'Naruto is 12,' Kakashi thought. 'The girls are nine-ish, that means they'll still be cute like that for a few more years.' A grin formed under his facemask. It fell just as quickly. 'Unless they become like Sakura.' He imagined them all chasing after Sasuke shouting 'Sasuke-kun!'. He shuddered.

"Kakashi-sensei…?" Naruto waved a hand in front of his eye.

"Oh, sorry. Got lost there for a moment." Kakashi straightened back up. "I'll see you soon, Naruto. Try to meet up with Sakura and Sasuke and train on your own, ok?"

"Ok…" he moped and watched his sensei go through the huge gates and out of town.


	12. Chapter 12

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Twelve**

Oururi dozed on the dilapidated orange couch in her living room. The radio played twangy ethnic music lightly in the background. Yami peeked over the back of the couch and made hand signals to Yume who was hiding in the doorway to the bathroom. She then signaled to Hikari, who snuck in under the blind spot next to the coffee table. A single, worn, white envelope lay on the table. Hikari's eyes fixed on nothing but the prize. Oururi turned in her semi-sleep and all three girls froze. Yume closed the bathroom door and ran the tap as a distraction. Yami coughed and Hikari lunged for the envelope.

In a flash the girl was dangling in her mother's grip. Oururi's eyes were glowing with evil. "You thought you could out-sneak your Kaasan?" she bellowed. Hikari screamed.

"Aw, come on, Kaasan! Read the letter!" Yami shouted.

"Please!" Yume begged.

"Kaasan… I can't… breathe…" Hikari struggled.

Oururi let her drop onto the couch, which puffed out a light cloud of dust as she hit. "Ugh." Oururi rolled her eyes and picked up the letter. "I don't want to!"

"Why not? We want to hear what Tousan has to say."

"I miss Tousan."

"Me too."

Oururi sat down. "So do I." She bit her lip and finally opened the envelope, which she had found in the bag with the phony scroll. It was addressed simply to 'Oururi and Kids'. She took the letter out and another piece of paper fluttered down into her lap. She looked at it casually, but her eyes grew wide with disbelief.

"What is it, Kaasan?" all three girls asked, worriedly.

Her hands now trembling slightly, Oururi read the letter aloud. "Ore no Taisetsuna hito-tachi. My Precious people. I hope you made it back to the village safely and that this letter finds you well. I miss you already, but I am sure that we will meet again at the end of Oururi's tenure. Enclosed please find a little something to help until then. Love to you all, Hatake Kakashi.'"

"A little something?" Hikari asked. "Is it that paper, Kaasan?"

"It's… It's a check," she stammered. "For 600,000 ryou!"

"Waaaa!" They all screamed and jumped up and down on the couch. "Kaasan, can we get a TV!" "Kaasan, can I get a nice dress?" "Can we eat at a restaurant, see a movie, go shopping?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Oururi laughed and hugged her daughters. 'I had forgotten how much Jounin in Konoha make,' she thought and reread the letter quickly. Her happy smile fell as she remembered why she didn't want to read it in the first place.

"Kaasan, you ok?"

"Yeah, yeah." She waved her hand. "Go on and get ready to go out. First stop is the bank!"

"Yay!"

Oururi stared at the first words of the letter: 'taisetsuna hito': 'precious people'. "I can't fall in love with you, Kakashi,' she thought. 'As long as the girls are bound to the Sand, we can't be together. I can't fall… I won't fall…"

**.X.X.Flashback.X.X.**

A younger Kakashi darted over the Konoha rooftops in pursuit of his quarry. Dark clouds swept in overhead. He looked up and furrowed his brows. Three kunai flew at him, striking not his body, but a cardboard box he had swapped himself with.

"Damnit," Oururi hissed from her secluded position and bounded off, following a flash of black. She came to an alley and spun around, startled that she had been so easily trapped.

"Saa," Kakashi's voice bounced off the walls. "Now, how's about that kiss?"

"Baka!" she shouted back. "You think you got me?" Thunder rumbled as the storm came into town. Oururi held her hands up as if to make a seal. Quickly, she sliced her cheek with her left thumbnail, wiped some blood on her index and middle fingers and pointed them at the sky. 'Aono Ichizoku…!"

Kakashi's eyes went wide. "No! Please don't do that!" he shouted, cutting her off.

"What?"

"Don't. I know how much that jutsu hurts. This isn't worth that pain." He put his hands out. "I give up."

"What?" she asked again and dropped her hands. "What's wrong with you?"

"I… I don't care to win or lose if it means you'll get hurt."

She blinked and for a moment it seemed that she understood him. This was only temporary. "Sucker!" She stuck out her tongue and approached him. "You gotta toughen up, Kakashi. That sensei of yours put some pretty soft ideas in your head..."

Her comment struck a sour note. "That sensei of mine also happened to be Yondaime. He didn't get that position by being weak." In a flash Kakashi vanished. Oururi scoffed, thinking he had gone home, defeated. Kakashi re-appeared at her side, grasped the back of her head with one hand, pulled down his facemask with the other and kissed her, roughly. "I am the same way." He wiped the blood still oozing from the self-inflicted wound on her cheek with his thumb. "Like Yondaime, I will protect those who are precious to me, win or lose."

**.X.X.End Flashback.X.X.**

Oururi sighed and looked out the window at the tan, treeless landscape. "How could you love me, Kakashi?" she asked no one. "I was such an asshole. I didn't deserve you at all…"


	13. Chapter 13

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Thirteen**

Kakashi wiped sweat out of his eye as he trekked across the sand. "This place _does_ suck," he groaned. Suna Gakure's outline shivered in the distance.

**.X.**

When Oururi and the girls got home later that night, they were exhausted from a long day of shopping and eating out. They put their new clothes away, set up a brand new television set and went to bed. In moments the girls were asleep. Oururi watched them for a moment before crashing herself.

"Kakashi," she whispered to the stillness. "I miss you so much. I want to go home. I want another chance. I want to fall for you." A few tears rolled down her cheeks as she drifted off to sleep.

About an hour later, a foreign sound woke Oururi with a start. She sat up and listened, but swooned. She coughed and groped for the lamp. "What's going on!" she cried and tried to get up. Her eyes were heavy and her body was unresponsive. "Oh no, gas!" she looked to the open window and saw three shapes bound away over the rooftops, each one carrying a smaller form.

"Girls!" she shouted and her vision blurred. "No, not my girls…" Oururi tried to get to the window. She lost consciousness and collapsed on her bed.

Another hour later, Kakashi unlocked the door with a burglar's tool and sneaked in. Before he could chime a greeting he had rehearsed for the last 100 miles, he saw the scene. "Oururi!" He rushed to her side, took her in his arms and shook her lightly. She was sleeping soundly under the drug's power. He removed something from of his pocket, cracked it open and held it under her nose.

Oururi struggled as she regained her senses. At last, she saw him. "Kakashi," she muttered. "Are we in Konoha?"

"No," he said sadly. "Come on, wake up. We've got work to do."

"Work?" she asked. He helped her sit up. She looked at the empty window behind him. "Girls!" she shouted.

He clenched his teeth. "How long ago was it, do you think?"

She looked to the clock. "Not more than an hour. What are you doing here?" She squinted and looked back to him. "Or are you not Kakashi?"

His eye widened. "Yeah, I guess this looks weird, ne?" He rubbed his chin. "Well, Hokage-sama has sent a team to get a signature on a release form for you and the girls. He sent me before them to keep you safe. I'm sorry. I was too late. Do you think it's their intention to kill them? I mean, they're Chuunin, after all. I think they would want to keep them. Well, it won't matter after tomorrow when the agreement gets signed but..." Oururi blinked at him. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to do to prove to you this is me and not a Sand-nin in disguise."

She smiled. "You've done it. No one here cares about me. They wouldn't have thought to say all of those things." She took his hand and stood up. Her legs were still uncooperative and she stumbled into him. She let him put his arms around her. "We have to chase them," she said into his chest. "The abductors were Anbu. If they want to keep the girls, they'd only have to brainwash them into wanting to stay. No matter of paperwork will undo that." She hugged Kakashi back. "Help me get dressed."

"Ok!" He blushed and grinned.

Oururi concealed her grateful smile. "Baka."


	14. Chapter 14

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Fourteen**

In a small, dark room the Hatake girls awoke surprised to find themselves bound and gagged. They were tied to chairs in a circular formation. Their eyes were blindfolded. Each struggled and tried to scream, but quickly quieted as a laugh like a crow cawing sounded from the other side of the room. "Little Chuunin girls," a man's voice cackled. "You think Kazekage will set you free?" he laughed again. "You're too valuable, little Chuunin girls. We're going to keep you. Our friend Mimizuku will make certain of that!"

"Karasu," a woman's voice barked. "Don't you think you should be outside? Our guests will be here soon."

"Hai hai Sempai," he said, cheerfully. "Though I don't think I'll get a chance to play with them with Washi-san guarding the first gate."

"Just take your position," she said gruffly.

"Hai, Tancho-sempai."

Karasu's light footsteps walked out of the room and another heavier set walked towards the girls. They straightened up in anticipation.

"You think you're so special," the woman called Tancho hissed. "Kazekage-sama is going through an awful lot to keep you here." She circled the girls and scoffed. "It doesn't matter. Soon you won't ever want to leave the Sand." The footsteps disappeared into the next room.

Hikari reached her fingers as far as they would go and brushed Yami's hand on her right and Yume's hand on the left. 'Escape' she said with her fingertip in Morse code.

'How?' both replied.

'Cut ropes first.'

'OK' both agreed and they concentrated on removing their bonds without alerting their captors.

**.X.**

Kakashi and Oururi bounded across balconies and rooftops. "Are you sure they're there?" he asked.

"If the Anbu have them, they've taken them to the stronghold. I'm sure of it. We have to get there before their Genjutsu specialist gets a hold of them."

They leapt over a high wall and hid in the shadows. Dawn was breaking through thick clouds on another scorcher of a day. Already it was 85 degrees and the usually thin desert air felt thick and heavy. Their hiding place wouldn't last much longer.

"I can see him," Oururi whispered.

"Who's that, the Genjutsu user?" Kakashi spied the huge form in front of the tall gates leading into the Anbu compound.

"No. He's Juuken no Washi; seven foot three inches tall, 450 pounds, stupid, but strong and surprisingly fast for a big guy."

"Juuken? 'Tenblades'?"

Oururi nodded. "Juuken is his sword. When you're dodging it, add another 20 yards on your assumptions. It folds out ten times."

Kakashi sighed. "I sure am glad these are your co-workers."

"Yeah well…" She bit her lip. "If I've been keeping some of my techniques from them for 10 years, I assume they've been doing the same."

Kakashi stared at her. "There are things about you they don't know?"

"Two very important things!" she beamed.

His eye curved with delight. "This is starting to sound like a fair fight."

A deep voice boomed from the enormous man at the gate. "Why don't you come closer so we can play, Oururi-san?"

"Well," Oururi groaned as she stood up. "Let's do this, Inu-san."

Kakashi blinked at her and snorted. She called him by the "dog-boy" nick name she had called him back when they were Anbu together. "Hai, hai, Neko-san."


	15. Chapter 15

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Fifteen**

The big guy, Juuken no Washi, took another step towards them and the ground seemed to shake. Kakashi squinted in the pale light and thought of the best way to take him down.

"Allow me, Neko-san."

"If you insist, Inu-san."

"Eh?" Washi grunted. Kakashi calmly reached around, drew out a handful of shuriken and let them fly at the hulk. As Oururi said, he was fast for a big guy. Washi whipped his sword around, deflected the shuriken and sent it snaking out towards Kakashi. It sliced through him in a splattering of blood.

Oururi rolled her eyes. "Show off."

Several small logs clattered to the ground.

"Eh?" Washi grunted more enthusiastically. "Where did he go!" In a flash the sand seemed to turn to quicksand beneath him.

"Doton Shinjuu Zanshu no Justu!" Kakashi shouted as he dragged Washi down under the earth. Emerging unharmed and only a little dusty, Kakashi clapped his hands together.

Oururi folded her arms. "Hey, aren't you supposed to leave the head showing for that Jutsu?"

He shrugged.

"One down." Oururi walked over the now solid ground where Washi lay buried. "Four to go."

He sighed and walked through the gate behind her. "Let the rest be this easy."

They pushed the huge doors of the first gate open and were not surprised to find another Anbu waiting for them. He was small and lithe, but rather than springing on them, took a step back as they approached.

"Oururi-san," the small man breathed. "How are you this fine evening?"

"Cut the crap, Mukudori," she barked. "You can't win against us. Stand aside or die."

Kakashi raised a brow, but said nothing.

"Oh, I don't think so." Mukudori threw a dozen or so projectiles at the pair. Kakashi dodged, but Oururi blocked them. He was puzzled why she would do such a thing until he saw the few that she missed change course.

"Is he controlling the shuriken with his chakra?" he asked.

"They're not shuriken!" she called back. As it got closer he caught a strange movement: the flutter of wings. Three small, dark grey birds with sharp beaks flew at his head. In a moment he pinned them to the ground with Kunai.

"Summoning Jutsu?" he asked. She nodded. "Shall we, then?"

"Hai, Inu-san." As Mukudori called upon a horde of starlings which darkened the morning sky, Oururi and Kakashi started a dance they hadn't performed in ten years.

"Mukudori," Oururi taunted. "Your birds are really annoying. Let's see how well they get along with our cute critters."

Mukudori stopped calling more birds and prepared for his attack. "Your critters?" he asked, confused.

"There's more to my Anbu name than just the mask I wear. In the Leaf, this man and I were known as 'Neko to Inu Tai': the Cat and Dog Team. Now you should feel special because you get to learn why." She grinned, a bit of the old Oururi rising up with the excitement. "You ready, Inu-san?"

"Hai, Neko-san." Kakashi nodded and stood next to her. They performed synchronized movements, pulling a kunai from their pouches with one hand and a scroll from their pockets with another. They cut each other's fingers and pulled out each other's scrolls. Wiping their own blood on their respective scrolls, the pair called out in a flutter of parchment: "Ninpocho Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" and slapped the scrolls to the ground. Much to Mukudori's surprise, two enormous forms appeared in a cloud of dust. When it settled, a bulldog twice the size of a man and a mythological lion-like creature that looked like it belonged in a Chinese New Year's parade just as large growled in his direction.

Feathers and blood rained down on the ground between them as the cat and the dog tore into the flock of birds. Mukudori trembled as his minions were defeated. When there were no more birds to protect him, he lashed out with thin, needle-like kunai. The dog howled as a few of them hit home. The lion didn't waste any time and with a bite and a twist snapped Mukudori's neck.

Oururi looked away as a sickening crunch resounded in the enclosure.

"Looks like Shishigata hasn't fought in a while," Kakashi muttered. 'He's just as violent as Oururi used to be,' he thought. 'At least, I hope I'm right.'

"Shishigata!" she called out. "That was unnecessary. Mukudori was defeated."

The ancient lion-dog creature swung his scraggly head around from his task of removing the needles from Kakashi's dog and stared at her. "Eh, Oururi-chan, is that you?" it roared. "You've left us alone for so long I thought maybe you had died." He padded over to her and she scratched his huge ears.

"Sorry, friend. A lot has changed."

Shishigata snorted and rolled his eyes in Kakashi's direction. "I see your taste in company hasn't."

"Shishigata!" she scolded. Kakashi's dog came to his defense.

"I could say the same for Kakashi-san," he barked. The two massive beasts almost shot fireworks from their eyes as they stared at each other.

"Ok, ok," Kakashi moaned. "Enough socializing." He picked up his scroll and the dog vanished.

"Thank you, Shishigata," Oururi thanked the protector lion and did the same.


	16. Chapter 16

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Sixteen**

Day was breaking under the cover of thick, low-lying clouds. Oururi pretended to busy herself with her scroll pouch as she studied the sky. The air was heavy with moisture. The start of the Hidden Sand's brief but often devastating monsoon season was approaching.

"Tut tut," Kakashi quoted as he opened the third gate, "it looks like rain."

"Who knows," she said with a sigh and tried to seem uninterested.

"Don't use that Jutsu."

"I will do what I must."

He grabbed her arm. "Please."

Oururi narrowed her grey eyes and stared into his only blue. "I will do what I have to do to protect my children."

He gasped lightly and released her. She walked through the gate. "And I will do the same," he whispered and followed her.

Behind the third gate was another enclosure like the last two, only this one was empty. Kakashi raised his hitai-ate and scanned the area with his solitary Sharingan iris. "He's here," he whispered. Oururi nodded. "Any ideas?"

"Could be Karasu…"

"Chigau!" a sing-songy voice called out. "Wrong-o!"

"Shit," Oururi hissed. "Kakashi, don't look at her!"

A small, round woman with huge, round glasses dropped her camouflage and clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture. "Onee-sama, why do you want to leave?" she cooed and pouted. Her Anbu mask was affixed to the back of her head.

Oururi stared at the ground. "I didn't think they'd use Mimizuku so soon. She's the Sand Anbu's best Genjutsu user. That means the girls are safe for now, though." She looked to Kakashi but he was still looking straight ahead. Suddenly it seemed about 10 degrees hotter and more humid outside that it had only moments before. "Oh no, Kakashi…"

Mimizuku's pleading hands shifted into a seal. "That was so easy! Gotta love that freaky eye, ne?" Her giggle made Oururi growl.

"I will make you wish you had never laid eyes on him, you little bitch," Oururi hissed.

"Oh?" Mimizuku asked. "Much as it pains me to see you die, Onee-sama… Sharingan no Kakashi, kill her!"

Kakashi crouched low and suddenly leapt at Oururi. His eyes were as white as a Hyuuga's.

"Ohohoho!" Mimizuku laughed covering her mouth with her hand. "This is great! Get her!"

"Baka!" Oururi shouted as she dodged his fists and feet. "It's me, snap out of it!" The sky grew darker and a low rumbling caught Oururi's ear. "Come on, come on," she growled. "I don't want to hurt you, Kakashi."

He swatted at her a few more times before she cuffed him and leapt on top of the high wall. Oururi raked her left cheek with her thumbnail and wiped the blood on her first two fingers. "Aono Ichizoku Lightning Call!" she shouted and thrust her hand above her head. "First Strike!" In response the black cumulonimbus clouds above her sent a jagged bolt of lightning down to the contact point on her fingers.

Mimizuku shrieked in alarm as the thunder clapped, dropping her concentration on Kakashi for a moment. Surprised, but attentive, the bespectacled woman shouted at him, "Kill her, now!"

"I'm sorry, Kakashi. This is going to sting a bit!" Oururi shouted. Her hair billowed around her with the static charge. She pointed her bloodied fingers at him and let the power loose. It shot out so quickly one would have missed it had one blinked. It arched and crackled towards Kakashi. "Sidesplash!" Oururi called and the bolt swung left, sending a small stream of electricity towards Kakashi, stopping him just a few feet before he would have reached her, and the larger portion of it off towards Mimizuku. The Genjutsu user crumpled to the ground in a charred heap. Kakashi fell to his knees, his hair smoking a little but otherwise unharmed.

"What, what happened?" he asked looking up in a daze as Oururi jumped down from the wall. She wiped her face with the back of her hand and walked past him.

"I'm sorry."

Kakashi furrowed his brows, but didn't push her. 'Damn it,' he thought. 'I can't let her do that again.' He could tell by her breathing that the Lightning Call had taken a good amount of her Chakra with it. 'For this next one I've got to be on my toes.' "Oururi," Kakashi called, catching up to her. "Before we go through this door, who's left? Who do you expect to see today?"

"There's only two left of the whole upper echelon of Anbu: Karasu and Tancho. Karasu is a sick bastard whose hobbies include unconventional body piercing and human taxidermy and Tancho is the captain. No one has ever beaten her since she's become captain. She's a Taijutsu specialist. I've never seen her use anything else, but then again, none of her targets have ever lived to tell what she might up her sleeve."


	17. Chapter 17

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Seventeen**

They leaned against the door and cautiously pushed it open. Even though the sun had now risen, the clouds looming overhead and the drizzling rain darkened the enclosure. At first, the space seemed vacant, but both knew not to let their guard down. The sand before them swelled and a figured emerged.

"Oururi-san," the man greeted them, sand spilling away from him as he was unearthed. "So good to see you, but not so much the famous Copy Ninja," he hissed, nodding his head in Kakashi's direction.

"Stand down, Karasu" she replied through gritted teeth.

Karasu worked his hands into a series of seals, settling finally on the shape of a bird. "Oh, but don't you want to see the special present I've gotten you?" The earth rumbled and they prepared for the attack. "Kuchiyose Edotensei!"

"He's calling the body and soul of a dead person…"

"How did he learn thatHHHhenifnkldsfklnsdfklnsfd!" Kakashi asked his partner.

Sure enough, the sand erupted a second time and a coffin shot up from the earth. As was traditional, a family name was engraved on the lid. The kanji read 'Tsuyuki'

A quick glance to Oururi told Kakashi the name didn't ring any bells with either of them. The seal cracked revealing the reanimated corpse of a man. He stood nearly 6'4" tall, just a bit taller than Kakashi, and had long, dark blue hair. He lurched forward at Karasu's command. Oururi's jaw dropped.

"Oururi-san, Daddy's home!" Karasu laughed and sent the zombie after her. Kakashi waited and watched as they danced around the enclosure. The zombie pulled a katana on her and slashed away, fortunately still a little stiff from just being awakened.

"Father, stop!" she shouted, desperately.

"I'm sorry, my little girl," his scraggly voice muttered. "I must obey,"

Kakashi watched and was getting tired of waiting, but knew that Oururi wouldn't let him intervene. The clouds rumbled. 'Oh no…' he thought. "Oururi, watch out!" he shouted and pointed to the sky.

"I know!" she barked back, but before she could even cut her cheek, she was astounded to hear the words echo back at her.

"Tsuyuki Ichizoku…"

"Otousan…" she screwed up her face and stared at him. 'What is he doing? 'Tsuyuki'? Even if it is the same attack, it can't affect me.'

"Lightning Call!" The dead man pointed his fingers coated with thick, black blood at his daughter. The bolt hit her chest and pushed her back a few feet. Her heels made tracks in the sand. When the dust cleared she was shocked to find Kakashi standing perilously close to her.

"What are you doing, Baka! Get away from me or you're toast! He charged me up!"

"I know!" he shouted back and threw a smoke bomb to the ground. Before the dust cleared a zap of electricity was heard from the cloud and Oururi tumbled out of it. The Zombie pulled his sword and went for her. Kakashi burst out of the dissipating smoke and headed for Karasu.

"Idiot," Karasu said calmly as he deflected the shuriken that Kakashi hurled as he ran. Karasu never expected the bolt of lightning to shoot out of the Copy Ninja's palm. At a distance of only 4 feet, the 2 inch thick bolt hit his chest at close to 20,000 amps.

"How did you…?" he asked as blood bubbled up into his mouth. "He can't copy an advanced bloodline…"

"Baka." Kakashi put his hand up and transformed back into Oururi. Karasu fell to his knees then face down into the sand. She turned around and saw that once Kakashi transformed back into himself, the Zombie had stopped chasing him. "Otousan!" she called and ran to the man.

"Musume," he whispered and reached out to her but just as their fingers would have met, his physical body turned to sand and fell to the ground.

Oururi stood still for a moment, dumbfounded. She rubbed her hand over her sternum and winced. Kakashi came up behind her. She stared at the sand, darkening with rain. "I want this over, Kakashi. I want my girls and I want out of here, now."

"I know." He clenched his teeth. Even though she had not called the lightning herself, the blast she received from her father had done the same stress to her heart. "You let me get the next one. You're almost out of chakra."

"You are too," she said without turning. Her jacket was soaked through. She sloughed it off and dumped it on the ground. The dry patch in the middle of her shirt attested to the power of the blast she took. The rain slowly changed that. She looked up at the sky and let the small droplets coat her face then wiped it with one hand. More than anything at that moment she wanted Kakashi to wrap his arms around her and tell her everything was going to be all right, but she knew that if he did she wouldn't have the strength to go on. "Don't tell me that freaky eye of yours doesn't suck chakra just as much."

"Got me there," he said and turned to open the fifth and final gate.

She breathed a sigh and followed him.


	18. Chapter 18

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Eighteen**

Inside the stronghold after nearly a half an hour of twisting and pulling with only her fingertips, Hikari managed to loosen Yume's bonds enough to free her. In moments, the others were also free, but they remained seated and as still as possible through the whole thing, knowing there were eyes on them.

'Now?' Yami tapped on Hikari's wrist.

'Now.' She tapped back to both. They grasped the backs of the chairs and stood up, throwing the chairs over their heads. Several lesser Anbu soldiers waiting in the wings leapt out at them, brushing the chairs aside. Still with their eyes covered and their backs to each other, the sisters linked arms at the elbows and made seals with their hands.

"Power of Three no Jutsu!" they shouted in unison and a large puff of smoke surrounded them. When the dust cleared the Anbu backed off, unsure of what they were seeing. Three blindfolds fluttered to the ground. "We're out of here!"

**.X.**

Inside the last enclosure a rather broad-chested woman wearing a heavy leather trench coat stood with her arms crossed. "Oh, Oururi. You're trounced," her captain scolded. "You're not going to be any fun to fight at all!"

Kakashi stepped forward. "Too bad you won't get a chance. I'm going to take you out."

Tancho laughed. "You're in no better shape. And that funny eye of yours isn't going to help you one bit."

Kakashi nodded. "So I've heard." He pulled his forehead protector down over the Sharingan and raised his right hand. His left he folded behind him. "Let's go. I don't want to waste any more time."

"You're on!" Tancho shouted and flew at him. Kakashi vanished and seemed to reappear just behind her. He struck at her with his elbow, but she too faded. "Maybe you _should_ use your Sharingan, pal." She planted the base of her palm between his shoulder blades, sending him crashing to the ground. She threw several kunai at his fallen form as she flipped over him. They struck wood.

'How the hell did he find wood out here?' Oururi thought as she watched the fight. He was good, but he was tired. She knew it was only a matter of time before he could no longer keep up with Tancho who had been doing nothing but waiting for them. She watched the clouds race across the sky. The raindrops were getting larger by the moment. The wind was also picking up. 'Soon,' she thought. 'I can do it one more time. I can…'

Kakashi's eye widened as he saw Tancho's grinning face in front of his own. He doubled over as her fist landed in his gut.

"This is no fun," she mumbled and watched him fall to his knees. Kakashi snorted, his own grin hidden under his mask.

He held his hands together. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Three clones appeared on either side and started laying in on her. Tancho was startled that he had the strength to pull of a high-level jutsu. She dodged and retreated.

"All right. It seems I need to up the ante." She held her hands together.

"What!" Oururi cried. "Ninjutsu? Since when do you use Ninjutsu!"

Tancho laughed "A good Ninja never reveals what he is truly capable of!" She flashed her hands into many seals. "Suna Bunshin no Jutsu!" Five human forms massed themselves from the surrounding sand and launched themselves at Kakashi. Within moments his shadow clones were popped and his own body was being batted back and forth among the sand clones.

Oururi clenched her fists. 'I know your not going to like this, Kakashi,' she thought. 'But I'm not going to lose you now…' She raked her cheek, opening a second wound. The blood trickled down and was wiped onto her first two fingers. "Aono Ichizoku…!" she pointed her hand to the heavens. "Lighting Call Second Strike!" the bolt tore the air open as it crashed down, startling Tancho enough that the clones stopped their attack momentarily. Fully charged, Oururi ran to Kakashi's side.

"Can you jump?" she whispered urgently.

"Yeah." He nodded, only having sustained a cracked rib or two so far. "Oururi…"

"Shut it. I'm ending this now. On three!" she commanded.

"Ok…"

"Oururi," Tancho growled and opened her arms. "You were holding out on us, were you?"

"Just like you were!" she spat. "One," Oururi counted softly.

"You could have been captain one day." Tancho's grin widened, waiting for her attack.

"Two," Oururi whispered. "I'm leaving the Hidden Sand and I'm taking my family with me."

"Kazekage-sama has ordered us otherwise." Tancho took a step forward, reaching behind her for a handful of shuriken.

"I am of the Leaf!" she shouted back. "Three!" Oururi counted to three.

Kakashi launched himself off the ground, jumping backwards. While he was in the air, Oururi reached for the ground. In slow motion, she watched in horror as Tancho anticipated her move and jumped as well. Just as quickly, Oururi smiled as she spied her opportunity. Tancho's movement caused a stream of rain water to flow from her large protective trench coat.

She was still connected to the ground.

Oururi pressed her hand down. "Ground Current Strike!" she shouted and sent the electricity across the wet sand. Tancho screamed long and hard as the energy snaked up the stream of water and stopped her heart. Smoking, her body dropped with a slight splash. The sand clones stood where they were, turned to glass by the heat of the strike.

"That that," Oururi mumbled and winced. She grasped her right shoulder. It wasn't far to fall from her kneeling position, but Kakashi still made it in time to catch her. The final arcs of current crackled as he touched her. She wasn't breathing.

"Oururi!" Kakashi acted fast. He laid her on the ground and uncovered both his Sharingan and his face. Using a few helpful techniques not unlike the Hyuga's Byakugan, he looked inside her and gasped. He gritted his teeth and cautiously began CPR. He held her nose and breathed air into her lungs twice. She was unresponsive. 'Her body should be able to handle the shock,' he thought, his gorge starting to rise at the thought of not being able to save her. 'Her heart must have stopped because she ran out of chakra!' He began chest compressions and in a last-ditch effort, summoned up as much chakra as he could without losing consciousness. As his hands pressed down, he flooded her body with his own power. "Come on, Oururi," he whispered and gave her two more breaths.

As he pulled away to check her pulse, she gasped and her body twitched.

"Thank God…"

She was breathing.

Kakashi looked up to the last gate and took a deep breath of his own. "If we make it through this," he whispered. "I'm never letting you out of my sight again." Carefully, he picked Oururi up and trudged towards the door, her dead weight all the more cumbersome with hardly any strength left to carry it.

Just as he was trying to think of a way to open the huge doors, a sharp cracking sound echoed through the enclosure as the hinges were snapped off from the other side.

The sand-nin standing behind the final gate had her hands up, ready to attack. Her white hair was tied in one long braid down her back. She stared at Kakashi, hard.

'This is just great,' he thought angrily. He then noticed her bare upper arms were tattoo-less. 'She's not Anbu…?' perhaps not, but she was now running towards him with a strangely worried expression on her face.

Kakashi was just about out of ideas when the sand-nin shouted, "Kaasan!"

"Eh?" His eye bulged as he studied the woman more closely. Although she was about his age and roughly 5'3" she bore a striking resemblance. "Girls!" he asked, flabbergasted.

"Yeah," she answered quickly, her eyes not straying from her mother's pale face. "No time to explain. We need to get her to a hospital. You're hurt too, Tousan." Kakashi nodded and didn't argue when the woman took Oururi from him. "Follow us," she said and bounded over the enclosure wall.


	19. Chapter 19

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Nineteen**

They splashed through the empty early morning streets as the rain really started beating down. The people of the Sand knew better than to be outside in such dangerous weather. A flash flood could sweep a child or pet away without warning.

"Hospital's this way!" the woman shouted and turned a corner. Both skidded to a halt as they felt the enemy's presence. She placed Oururi carefully on the ground. "Tousan, protect Kaasan," she whispered. "We'll do our best."

Kakashi blinked. 'Talk about your role reversal,' he moaned internally. "What is that jutsu?" he asked them quickly.

"'The Power of Three no Jutsu'," she stated. "We're all in here. Three Chuunin combined in one person." She grinned sheepishly. "But like Kaasan says, even though this body is 27, we're still only nine years old!" The Sand-nin took the opportunity to rush them. "Don't worry, Tousan!" she shouted and fought back.

"Ah, to be young and optimistic," Kakashi muttered and kept watch over Oururi's still form. 'I can hardly stand,' he laughed as he thought. 'Let's see how long I can bluff.'

The girls were doing well against the enemy. Several ninja lay sprawled on the wet ground, but more were coming by the moment. Just when it was looking bleakest, a deep, bellowing voice brought the fight to a halt.

"Cease and desist, by order of Kazekage!"

The sand-nin looked to the source. Atop a three story building holding a scroll in his hand and striking a pose was Maito Gai. His smile glinted even in the rain.

"Gai to the rescue," Kakashi moaned and slumped to his knees. The Leaf-nin team descended and formed a protective ring around the three.

"You ok, Kakashi?" Gai asked over his shoulder.

"Yeah, but Oururi isn't," Kakashi mumbled, his strength almost completely gone.

The 'Power of Three' released and the Hatake girls popped back into three separate children again. They ran to their parents. "Please mister!" Hikari shouted "Kaasan needs a doctor!"

Gai wasted no time and scooped Oururi up. Another Leaf-nin helped Kakashi to his feet and they hurried to the hospital.

**.X.**

That evening, after Gai and the girls had gone back to their house to pack their things, Kakashi wandered down the hall from his room to the intensive care unit, using the wall as a crutch.

A heart monitor blipped in an awkward rhythm. An external pacemaker fired occasionally to offset the difference, keeping Oururi's heart beating. He knew better than to touch her, or he would receive the shock as well, so he sat and watched the pained expression on her face and talked to her into the night.

In her dreams, Oururi walked through a forest. When she emerged, she could see the high walls of Konoha. Leisurely, she walked into town and sat down outside a tea house. The sun was shining brightly and although there were people everywhere, it was very quiet.

"Mind if I join you?" a strange voice asked. She squinted and saw the silhouette of a large man. She waved to the free seat across from her and wasn't surprised when she saw who it was: a man whose face she'd only known in photographs.

"I'm sorry, Tousan," Oururi began. "I really messed up out there. I think I've been really badly hurt, too."

He shook his head. "I'm the one who's sorry. I wish I could have helped you grow up. I could have at least helped you with the bloodline…"

"The bloodline," she said rubbing her hand over the two cuts on her cheek. She remembered the name on the coffin Karasu called forth was different than hers. "Otousan, is Aono really my name?"

"It is your name, yes. My name was different. Your mother changed yours to protect you. If the Hidden Cloud doesn't know you exist, they won't come after you. It's not important to your happiness. Please forget you even saw or heard it."

She wanted to ask a million other questions, but this was after all a dream. They were silent for what seemed like hours yet couldn't have been more than a few minutes.

"Am I going to wake up?"

Her father nodded. "There's someone wanting to hold your hand. Why don't you calm your heart and let him?" Oururi blinked at him as he stood up, pushing his long, blue hair back over his shoulder.

"Tousan?"

"Yes," he answered her. "We are watching, your mom and I."

Oururi smiled and closed her eyes.


	20. Chapter 20

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Twenty**

"What do you think you're doing!" the nurse barked at Kakashi that morning. "Are you slow or something, pal? I told you you'll get shocked if you touch her!"

Kakashi looked leisurely up at the irate woman. His hand still covered Oururi's. "I've been here for three hours, and in the last two your beat-correction device hasn't fired once."

The nurse blinked, but looked to the reports. He was right. "Well I'll be…"

Kakashi raised a brow as he heard a commotion in the hallway. In moments the door burst open and the girls piled into the tiny room.

"Is Kaasan ok!" they asked in unison, red-cheeked and panting.

The nurse smiled. "It looks like I can safely send her home with you guys today."

"Wai!" they cheered. Gai poked his head around the door and smiled, softly. "Tousan! We get to all go home now!" Kakashi groaned a bit as they hugged his bruised body a bit too hard.

"Hai, Hai, Musume."

"Muh muh muh muh…" Gai stuttered. "Musume! Omaeno Musume desuka?" His jaw hung open and he pointed at his rival. "These are your daughters!"

'One-upped three times over, eh Gai?' Kakashi thought, but kept it to himself. He squeezed Oururi's hand and hugged his daughters. "Hear that, Oururi? We're going home."

**.X.**

Sometime around 5 AM, five days later, Oururi opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was that her left hand throbbed like nobody's business. The second thing was a bird chirping outside a window just behind her. She looked around and took in the books on the wall to her right, the pictures and potted plant above her on the sill and Kakashi's scraggly white hair to her left. He was sleeping, sort of sitting up and leaning against the bed. His Sharingan eye was covered by a bandana-like eye patch rather than his hitai-ate and he was dressed in his pajamas. She reached over with her right hand and brushed his hair with her fingertips.

"Kakashi…"

"Hey you," he muttered and opened his blue eye.

"…are we in Konoha?"

He took her hand and kissed her fingers. "You bet."

**.X.**

It was naturally a few days before Kakashi returned to work. His students were very happy to have him back, as their efforts to train on their own had been futile.

It was nearly noon before he showed up on the bridge where they usually met. Just as they got to their usual training grounds, Kakashi sighed. 'What are they up to now?' he asked himself as he sensed his daughters' presence.

"Hora hora hora!" they shouted as one from the trees. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke spun and stared at the Chuunin pre-teens. "Hey hey hey! Long time no see. We've come for your bento!"

"Their lunches?" Kakashi asked aloud.

"Hand 'em over!" Hikari shouted.

"Or suffer the consequences!" Yami added.

"Girls!" their mother's voice made them wince. "Is this why you wanted to run ahead?" Oururi glared at them and they hopped down obediently.

"Sorry, Kaasan," Yami apologized.

"We were just gonna play with them," Yume added softly.

Oururi shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry about that," she addressed the Genin. "We wanted to bring you all lunch." She held out a rather sizable picnic basket with her right hand.

"Oururi, you shouldn't have," Kakashi scolded, thinking more about her recovery than her inconvenience. He took the basket from her.

Naruto's eyes squinted down to slits. He rubbed his chin and stared at the woman.

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura piped up. "Didn't they say their mother was dead?"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "There was a bit of a misunderstanding. Guys, this is Aono Oururi. Oururi, this is Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto."

Oururi smiled and bowed. "Nice to meet you," she chimed. "Kakashi's told me so much about you all. He's very proud of you." A sidelong glance to Kakashi said 'so _that's_ the Nine-Tails kid.'

Even Sasuke blushed a little at that statement.

"Sakura-chan, can you help me set up the lunch?" Oururi asked, holding up her still bandaged hand. "I need to talk to your sensei for a moment."

"Hai," she agreed, wondering what had happened to the woman's hand. There were tendril-like marks that ran up the inside of her forearm, almost tracing the veins in a dark red.

Once Oururi and Kakashi were out of sight, the basket disappeared from Sakura's hands. "What the…?" she gasped.

Three identical laughs resounded from the tree tops. "You want lunch, you come get it!" the girls shouted and the chase began. When it was over, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto were tied to the posts at the entrance to the training ground. Sasuke looked like he wanted to kill, Sakura looked like she wanted to die and Naruto was still screaming.

"You guys! I'm hungry! No fair!" His feet thrashed at the air.

"Ok. We'll let you go…" Yami cooed.

"…If you can guess our names," Yume finished.

"We know your names. You told us when we met," Sasuke groaned. "You're Hatake Yami, Yume and Hikari."

"Ah, ah, ah!" they shouted. "Which one is which? And we want the cute one to guess!" Sasuke and Sakura gaped as they pointed to Naruto.

'We're doomed,' Sasuke thought.

'Naruto…' Inner-Sakura thought. 'The _cute_ one!'


	21. Chapter 21

**Taisetsuna "Precious"** - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

**Chapter Twenty One**

A short distance from the scene, Kakashi and Oururi stood and looked at Konoha's skyline. "I've been thinking," Oururi began, "about what you asked me last night…"

Kakashi raised a brow, but remained silent. 'Do _not_ get your hopes up,' he warned himself. A light breeze picked up and played with Oururi's long, dark blue hair and the cute sun-dress she was wearing. She tucked some stray strands behind her ear. "You know, I never apologized…"

"For what?" he asked, wary of her soft tone of voice.

"For behaving so badly back there in the sand." She ran her fingers over her scorched veins. It had been a week and still she could hardly move her left hand. "I went too far."

"You did what you had to do," he assured her, "to protect those precious to you."

She turned and smiled. "Yup. All four of them."

Kakashi practically blushed. He was still getting used to the soft looks she gave him. When they were kids, her affection for him had been almost peripheral. He, on the other hand had always stared at her as if she was a flame that might go out any moment. Now, she was more like a beacon, glowing steadily, showing him where home is.

"I think we should try, Kakashi. See how it works out, all four of us living together." Oururi scuffed the ground with her foot shyly.

Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief. "Ok," he said, nonchalantly. She stepped into his embrace. After a few moments, Oururi pulled back and looked towards the training grounds. "We should get back. They've probably stolen their lunches by now."

"What!" Kakashi half-laughed.

**.X.**

Naruto squinted again. "Even I know this is no fair."

"Ok." One of them folded her arms. "You can have one question answered from each of us."

"Ok!" he cheered. "Ano, what should I ask….? Wait that's not my question! Etou… Ah! You! What's your favorite food!"

Sakura and Sasuke stared, open-mouthed. "We're going hungry," they both groaned.

"Fulwadi," the first replied, folded her arms and stared back, unblinking.

"Fura… fuwa… what the hell is that!" Naruto squirmed.

"Ah, ah." She shook her finger. "One question."

Sasuke growled. "Naruto! Think of something that will help you guess who they are, Dobe!"

"I know I know!" 'Ok, think… Ah!' "What's your favorite attack?"

The second beamed. "Easy! The Power of Three no Jutsu!"

"Oooooh… What's that? What's that!" Naruto asked, intrigued.

"_One_ question, Dobe!" She mimicked Sasuke, pulled down her eyelid at him and stuck out her tongue. Sasuke snorted, more amused than disappointed.

Naruto snarled a bit, but sighed and tried to think of a last question. 'I'm no good at this…' he looked over to the last girl who was blushing a bright pink and worrying her hands. 'Weird. She looks like that Hinata girl…' "Ano sa," he began. Her cheeks blushed deeper. "Ahhhh, I give up. I wasn't that hungry anyway. What's your favorite color?" he asked drearily.

"Ano… etou…" she mumbled. Her sisters shot her identical looks of death. "Blue. No, yellow!"

Naruto closed his eyes. I've pretty much lost the lunches at this rate…' he grumbled to himself. 'I'm gonna hafta guess. There's a cool one, a loud one and a shy one, sorta like our team. Their names are Yume, Yami and Hikari. Could that possibly mean something?'

"Hurry up!" one shouted. "Guess!"

'So, the cool one would be dark: Yami. The loud one would be bright so, Hikari and the shy one is Yume?' He sighed again. "Untie me. I'll guess."

They untied all three of them and put their hands on their hips. "Guess!" they shouted in unison.

Naruto raised his hand and pointed to each girl in turn. "Yami, Hikari and Yume." He pouted and waited.

"Uso!" they shouted again. "No way!"

Two puffs of smoke startled the Chuunin girls. "Uso!" Oururi cried as the dust cleared. "I don't believe it! You guessed right!"

Naruto beamed and gave Sasuke a loud raspberry. "Yay! Lunch time!"

"Oi, Naruto," Kakashi leaned over and whispered. "Can you tell me how you did that?"

"Nani!" the girls shouted. "Tousan, you can't tell us apart!"

He waved apologetically. "You look so much alike…"

As the girls piled on him, play-hitting and teasing him and his students tried to help free him, Oururi watched and smiled. 'Thank goodness,' she thought. 'They'll grow up happy now. I'm sure of it. We're home.'


End file.
